In the wake of all that transpired this past week, culminating in the Dallas standoff, I found myself thinking about the division in our country. This idea that permeates society, suggesting someone is either pro-one side or pro-the other, but not both. An idea perpetuated by news outlets and social media. An idea that makes it feel as if we have to choose a side -- when we know that neither side, exclusively, feels quite right. Isn’t it okay to care about it all? All at the same time?

This notion of “having to pick sides” left me thinking about education, about the challenges facing our local district and schools that systematically rush us to judgement, forcing us to “pick a side.” Is it possible that maybe, just maybe, the issues of this past week can serve to remind us that challenges don’t have to be mutually exclusive?

Let’s take the issue of inter-district transfer students as an example. I hear arguments on both sides of this issue. Arguments suggesting we need to eliminate them. Arguments suggesting we need to keep them. Isn’t it just possible we currently have too many, but still need a small number of these kids throughout all our schools? Too few may result in unintended consequences, and too many has resulted in the challenges we face today. The support from both sides is compelling; however, what if the answer lies somewhere in between?

Let’s take the issue of traffic. We can’t eliminate it all. Our communities’ residents drive. They drive to work. They drive their kids to school. The drive to the grocery store. They own multiple cars and their kids drive, too. And much of our driving time happens when schools are beginning and ending. This causes traffic nightmares. Unfortunately, we are a busy lot with people to see and things to do, so eliminating traffic completely isn’t realistically possible. But do we have to endure a traffic situation that perpetually gets worse year-over-year? Again, I’m suggesting the answer lies somewhere in between “like it was in the 1960’s” and “I’m forced to leave my home an additional thirty minutes earlier in order to get to work on time.”

Let’s look at one more issue -- fundraising. We live in the Los Alamitos Unified School District, a public school system the last time I checked, but time-and-time again we are caught up in the belief that in order for our schools to run and our kids to participate in sports, we need to shell out thousands of dollars. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the fact the we send them to a public school, in-and-of-itself, mean that the education our kids receive is “publically” funded -- in another word, free? That our kids can’t be held from an activity or program because of either an inability or an unwillingness of a family to pay? Again, I’m not suggesting that fundraising be cut completely, but I am suggesting that our district’s fundraising practices be closely re-evaluated. My guess is the fundraising answer lies somewhere between “nothing” and “I’m going to need to take out a second mortgage.”

An answer to our concerns as parents isn’t going to always be black and white. The answers are going to take a willingness on our part to stand on principles and have our voices heard. And our voices aren’t going to argue, offend, degrade, demean, or attack; rather, they will question, discuss and debate.

And somewhere in the middle, with a little give-and-take -- and without having to pick a side -- we’ll find our mutually “inclusive” solutions.

This week our neighborhood newspaper, The News Enterprise, will be publishing responses from each of the school board candidates to the same three questions. In case you don't receive the paper, I want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to see where I stand. All I ask this year is that votes are cast and based in facts. Ask the tough questions, hear each candidates' answers, and make a decision based on the direction in which you'd like to see our board move. We haven't had an election for a school board seat since 2006, as no one has challenged the incumbents in the last three elections.

With our district facing unprecedented changes the next four years - new funding formulas, new curriculum and new technology - we need a leader on the board who can take us into the future, rather than continuing to live in the past.

Listed below are The News Enterprise questions and my answers.

How would you describe an effective school board member?

An effective school board member must act responsibly within the law and in the best interest of all stake holders to ensure fiscal stability, academic fidelity, effective policy, and community involvement. Trustees must be available to all members of the community – those with and without children – to build a school that graduates responsible young adults who have learned to teach, give back, and contribute. Our board needs to reflect the needs of the community, while maintaining a balance between those needs and those of the student. School board members are called "Trustees" for a reason: they are being "trusted" with the future of the community – our most precious commodity – the children. What are you top priorities for the next four years?

Curriculum.The academic growth of the district has been stagnant for the past five years, Common Core is not commonplace in all classrooms across all grade levels, writing has been forgotten, and almost 50% of our children are not participating in AP courses, because the achievement gap is insurmountable. Curriculum needs to be a top priority – and a teacher needs to lead the charge.Safety. Alleviating traffic congestion in our neighborhoods needs to be a top priority of the next school board. Alongside easing the traffic woes, the next safety steps need to include training students in Bully Prevention and online e-reputation responsibility, reducing drug and alcohol abuse, and ensuring all students are safe in all dark corners of every campus. Additionally, research shows uniforms to be a great safety measure; therefore, an initiative in dress code reform K-12 needs to be discussed. Equity. I want to see inter-district transfer students, 35% of our district's current enrollment, dramatically decreased immediately, so our own in-district kids are given first, top priority for academics, arts, athletics and activities. I also want reform and transparency in all fundraising. I will also argue it's time all students – disenfranchised, EL, GATE – in LAUSD receive the same opportunities, regardless the school, leadership or classroom teacher. Do you have any specific changes you¹d like to make in the District?

I am a teacher, so my specialty is culture and curriculum. I will focus on what matters most for our kids: academics. Our district likes to celebrate the successes, but neglects to publicize its failures. My first academic change will be to increase the writing, depth and complexity in all courses, because there is no excuse for having only increased ELA proficiency 5% in the last six years. Additionally, our district needs to train all teachers and departments in the power of vertical alignment to ensure access to and success in AP courses, rather than accepting the fact that we are still graduating 44% of our students without an AP experience – one of the most significant measures of college success. Finally, we need to update our signature practices to embrace Common Core and 21st century education, especially since 28% of our students have not completed A-G college entrance requirements upon graduation, leaving them under-prepared for college and career opportunities. I have many more ideas for supporting kids, teachers and administrators, all while embracing what makes Los Al great. It's time to shake things up.

In the words of Mark Twain, "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason." Vote informed!

When my husband and I found out I was pregnant with my son, we decided to start researching the schools in the neighborhood where we lived at the time. We are both college graduates and wanted our children to have the type of quality education and experiences we had while growing up. What we found at the neighborhood school was a little disconcerting – we made a decision pretty quickly we wanted to move. We started looking for neighborhoods where the schools were high-performing and the students college-bound. It didn’t take us long to find Los Alamitos, put our first house on the market, and move into Rossmoor with the hope that this small district would provide just what we were looking for. When we made the decision to move, it was based on quite a few factors. LAUSD offered:

a small-community feel with large-district course offerings and opportunities for students

intimate elementary schools tucked into the neighborhoods so our kids could walk to school

community pride in school sports and activities

the potential for our kids to make life-long friends because of the tendency for Los Al graduates to return “home” to raise their own families

well-educated parents who prioritize education and college attendance

involved parents and volunteers all working towards a common goal

We ended up with two kids, and both of our kids have attended Los Al schools since Kindergarten. What we’ve found in the last seven years is:

more than 30% of their classrooms year-over-year have been made up of inter-district transfer students

a growing fear of my children being unable to play high school sports because of the sheer number of students trying out for limited spots

my kids are making friends with kids outside of the neighborhood, limiting their ability to simply “go outside to play”

increased traffic inside our intimate neighborhoods, perpetuating even more traffic because neighborhood parents don’t want their children in potential danger from speeding cars

over-crowded schools

increased fundraising requests to help pay for more programs for more children

I decided to check out the California Ed Code. What are districts legally able to offer and restrict with regard to inter-district transfers?“Policies regarding …inter-district/reciprocal agreement transfers are the responsibility of each local district governing board and are not within the jurisdiction of the California Department of Education. Each local district governing board has ultimate authority over general education processes such as district transfers. Parents/guardians shall work with their local school district administration to share their concerns and to determine what local processes their district has in place regarding district transfers.” Interesting. I initially believed a school district was required to offer a free and public education to all students. Turns out this is only true of your own in-district kids. “California law requires school districts to provide an education to any student who resides within the district’s attendance area. Although students have the right under California law to a free, public education, the law does not guarantee that a student can attend the school of his or her choice, or even the neighborhood school.” Interesting. Our own district kids may not be able to attend their own neighborhood school? This gets me thinking about the inter-district transfers again. Could it be true that in addition to the challenges I’ve been experiencing the past seven years, we also have been filling seats with transfer students and displacing our own district kids? I’d like to see our district return to the small-community district I know it has been in the past and can be again. I want to see our local children get first-right-of-refusal for participation in athletics, activities, academic courses, and the arts. I am ready to eliminate the inter-district transfer students. Will we see financial repercussions? Possibly. Is it worth taking a close look at our options, thinking outside the box, and re-evaluating our district priorities? Absolutely. Who’s with me?

Two summers ago I decided to bring some culture into my kids’ lives. This was my plan: once a week the three of us were going to visit one important site in Los Angeles for the day. Southern California is an amazing place, and I was determined to have my kids experience a big chunk of it in three short months. My list of sites was ambitious: The Getty Museum, Griffith Park Observatory, Santa Monica Pier, LA County Museum of Art, Catalina Island, Hollywood, Venice Beach Boardwalk, The Rose Bowl, Downtown Pasadena, La Brea Tar Pits. You get my point. We had lots of sites to explore in a short amount of time. We began our summer adventure with a trip to the La Brea Tar Pits and Original Farmer’s Market. We had a nice time, learned quite a bit, and decided the summer was going to be quite an adventure. Then we got in the car to head home. This is when everything changed. The 35-mile drive home took 3 hours and 10 minutes. By the time we arrived at our house, everyone was done. We were all grumpy, angry, tired, and sufficiently frustrated to forget the great time we’d have that day. The only saving grace was driving into the neighborhood. We found our calm and sanity pulling into Rossmoor. The neighborhood was quiet this afternoon, a light breeze welcomed us home and we found respite and safety inside this small corner of the world we call home. Needless to say, our Summer O’ Adventure only lasted one week; no one could stomach the thought of braving the LA traffic again. Which is why I find myself so frustrated by the debilitating morning school traffic around Los Alamitos. Regardless the school – elementary, middle or high – the traffic congestion has gotten out of control. The challenges may not be as severe as the 405 freeway on a Wednesday afternoon, but just in my small corner of Rossmoor by Lee Elementary, cars speed down Silverwood, Donovan and Loch Lomand to avoid the congestion on Foster. Cars are lined up to Rossmoor Park from the light at Wallingsford, waiting to exit the neighborhood. Everyone is in a hurry, and every student’s safety is at risk – too many cars, not enough cross walks, frayed nerves for working parents, and a speed limit left ignored. And I know this is happening all around our district schools. Why has the traffic gotten so bad? What happened to our quiet neighborhoods with neighborhood kids that brought me and my husband here almost twelve years ago? How can we go about restoring the community and quality of life in Los Alamitos, Rossmoor and Seal Beach? I think it’s time to discuss this problem. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have some ideas about what issues we can discuss to try to solve this challenge:

staggered start times for each school

designated drop-offs at busing locations outside of Rossmoor

elimination of inter-district transfers

equal distribution of inter-district transfers among schools

more crosswalks

more sheriff presence

I want to see more neighborhood kids walking, biking, skateboarding to school with friends. I want to see our neighborhoods become the safe-haven we all remember. I want to see safety become a priority. I want a lot … but don’t we all?